Shloka 8
कर्णस्य सेनापत्यं, माकरव्यूहः, पाण्डवानामर्धचन्द्रव्यूहः
Karna’s Command; Mākara Formation; Pandava Crescent Counter-Array
संजय कहते हैं--राजन! द्विजश्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्यने जिस वीरको चित्र (अद्भुत)
sañjaya uvāca—rājan! dvijaśreṣṭha-droṇācāryeṇa yaṃ vīraṃ citram adbhutam, śubhram prakāśamānam, divyaṃ ca dhanurvedokta-caturvidha-mahāstrāṇi samarpitāni; yaḥ saphala-prayatnavān mahāratho vīraḥ, yasya hastau atīva śīghraṃ pravartete, yasya dhanuḥ, yasya muṣṭiḥ, yasya bāṇāś ca sarve sudṛḍhāḥ; sa vegavān parākramī droṇaputra aśvatthāmā tvadartham yuddhecchayā samara-bhūmau vyavasthitaḥ. ānartavāsī hṛdikātmajo 'sau mahārathaḥ sāttvatānāṃ variṣṭhaḥ; svayaṃ bhojaḥ kṛtavarmā kṛtāstro vyavasthito yoddhukāmas tvadartham.
サンジャヤは言った。「大王よ、最上の婆羅門ドローナーチャーリヤが、弓術の学に説かれる四種の大いなる武器—奇瑞にして白く輝き、神威を帯びた武器—を授けたあの勇士は、努力において失敗なき大車戦士である。手はきわめて速く、弓も握りも矢も、ことごとく堅固で揺るがぬ。ドローナの子アシュヴァッターマンは、迅く勇ましく、汝のために戦わんと欲して戦場に陣を敷いている。さらに、フリディカの子クリタヴァルマン—アーナルタの住人にして大車戦士、サートヴァタ族の第一、ボージャの血統、武器に通暁する者—もまた、固く決して汝のために戦わんと立っている。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of martial capability when placed in service of a cause: extraordinary training and divine weapons amplify responsibility. It also highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness and readiness, while implicitly raising the question of whether loyalty to a king aligns with dharma.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that two formidable allies—Aśvatthāmā, empowered by Droṇa’s instruction and divine weapons, and Kṛtavarmā, an accomplished Sāttvata warrior from Ānarta—are firmly positioned on the battlefield, determined to fight for the Kaurava side.